XV CONGRESO ANUAL ~ EL ARTE EN CUBA: INSIDE AND OUT

Sunday, November 20, 2016 ~ 9 am to 7:30 pm

The Cuban Cultural Center of New York celebrates its 15th consecutive annual conference, this year dedicated to the history and development of art in Cuba—from colonial times to present-day performance art. The all-day event will not only cover the evolution and the different influences that have shaped the Cuban artistic landscape—through illustrated formal presentations and archival films—but will also include a gallery exhibition with works from past Cuban masters and contemporary artists from both inside and outside the Island.

The Escuela San Alejandro, founded in 1818, which has shaped and nurtured generations of Cuban artists, will be highlighted, including the different movements it spawned in the 19th century—especially el paisaje rural, costumbrismo, and el retrato—as well as one of its most famous alumni, Víctor Manuel, who, along with others in the early decades of the newly independent nation, would travel to Paris, and henceforth infuse modernity into Cuban painting and sculpture.

The golden era of plastic arts during the Republic will receive special attention, including its most famous exponents, among themJuan José Sicre, Fidelio Ponce de León, Carlos Enríquez, Cundo Bermúdez, Mariano Rodríguez, René Portocarrero, Wifredo Lam, Agustín Fernández, and, of course, Amelia Peláez, among the most iconic of Cuban artists, to whom the event will be dedicated. [Pictured above: Amelia Peláez’s Bandeja con frutas (Sandía), 1941. Courtesy of the Amelia Peláez Foundation.]

Registration will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and will include a special tour of Sotheby’s Latin American art collection. There will also be an
on-site exhibit of works by legendary artists Wifredo Lam, Amelia Peláez, Cundo Bermúdez, René Portocarrero, Mariano Rodríguez, and Agustín Fernández.

A SILENT AUCTION will be held throughout the day, featuring works by the most sought-after contemporary Cuban artists from inside the Island and in exile.